WELCOME TO BRCGATE!

Blue Ridge Crossroads Governor's Academy for Technical Education

Welcome to the Blue Ridge Crossroads Governor’s Academy for Technical Education (BRCGATE) website. The BRCGATE program serves the Twin County region in its desire to provide advanced level Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) instruction to the students of our region. This site contains a program description, powerpoint slideshow describing the academy, the detailed BRCGATE application, and the application and agreement forms to be submitted to your school counselor. Complete program descriptions and pathways are under development and will be posted as soon as they are completed. Please contact your high school counseling office for more details.

Our Mission:

The Academy will address the need for a highly skilled workforce that will attract high-tech industry to a rural economically challenged area of southwest Virginia. The career pathways format of the Academy will allow secondary students to develop advanced level technical and academic skills through real world instruction that integrates critical thinking, problem solving, and inquiry based instruction. The Academy will emphasize dual high school and college credit courses, project based learning experiences, and community based internships necessary to meet the expectations of the future global workforce.

Our Promise:To participate in the BRCGATE Academy the student will agree to:

Earn an Advanced Studies Diploma or an Advanced Technical Diploma.

Earn at least 9 transferable or career and technical college credits while enrolled in high school:

Complete dual enrollment/dual credit courses and earn a “C” or better in the courses

Maintain at least a 2.5 GPA

Earn an industry certification, state licensure, NOCTI certification in their approved pathway, or pass the Virginia Workplace Readiness assessment or Career Readiness Certification Assessment.

Our Purpose:The proposed academy targets three pathways in three career clusters.

The First Pathway

Engineering and Technology in the Stem Cluster, will be new to the course offerings at each of the participating secondary schools. Students enrolled in the pathway will be actively involved with high-tech devices, engineering graphics, mathematical concepts, and scientific principles through engineering-design experiences. Students enrolled in this pathway will be introduced to the career choices in the engineering and technology areas and prepare for post-secondary education in one of the engineering and technology fields.

The Second Pathway

Construction, is in the Architecture and Construction Career Cluster. The pathway will build upon current dual enrollment career and technical program areas within the Architecture and Construction Cluster with a focus on Green career awareness and training.

The Third Pathway

Focus on the Food Production and Processing Systems from the Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR) Cluster. Students enrolled in this pathway will be involved in agriculture and scientific research as well as hands-on learning activities.